DOCSLIB.ORG

Sweden After the Swedish Model from Tutorial State to Enabling State

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sweden After the Swedish Model from Tutorial State to Enabling State Sweden after the Swedish Model From Tutorial State to Enabling State Mauricio Rojas Sweden after the Swedish Model From Tutorial State to Enabling State Mauricio Rojas Copyright © Mauricio Rojas and Timbro publishers 1996, 1998 and 2005 English translation: photocopying, recording or otherwise), without Roger Tanner and Cristina Edbrooke the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. © Illustration: Monica Mullor Mauricio Rojas is a Member of Parliament for the Part One was first published in English as The Swedish Liberal Party. He was born in Chile in Rise and Fall of the Swedish Model by The Social 1950, came to Sweden in 1974, and has published Market Foundation, in 1998 in association with widely on immigrant problems and development Profile Books Ltd. Part Two and the Statistical issues. He is Associate Professor in the Depart- Appendix were originally published in Spanish in ment of Economic History at Lund University and 2005 by CADAL (Buenos Aires) as Suecia después Senior Adviser at Timbro. del modelo sueco. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights may 2005 under copyright reserved above, no part of this isbn 91-7566-589-1 publication may be reproduced, stored or intro- timbro, box 5234, se-102 45 stockholm duced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in tel +46-8-587 898 00, fax +46-8-587 898 55 any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, [email protected], www.timbro.se Contents Introduction 4 PART I: THE RISE OF FOLKHEMMET From Peasant Power to Industrial Breakthrough 7 Continuity and Change in Swedish History 6; Historical Roots 8; Modernisation and Industrial Breakthrough 13. Folkhemmet Triumphant 21 With the Tide – folkhemmet’s Foundation 27; The Decades of Hegemony 33. Folkhemmet Defeated 45 Against the Tide – the Storm Clouds of the Sixties 45; The Swan Song of folkhemmet 50. PART II: SWEDEN AFTER THE SWEDISH MODEL From Tutorial State to Enabling State 58 Introduction 58; Origins and Growth of the Welfare State 59; The Mature Tutorial State’s Problems 61; The Welfare State Crisis 63. Towards the Enabling State and a Welfare Society 66 Unresolved Economic Problems 69; The Great Dilemmas of the Future 72. Notes 75 Statistical Appendix 79 Bibliography 89 To Mónica with kisses and red roses Introduction Few social experiments have caught the imagination of politicians and students of political economy like the ‘Swedish model’. To successive generations of the centre left searching for their own “Third Way” Sweden was something of a paradise. This exotic Nordic country was a kind of real-life Utopia, an idyllic country, full of beautiful people with a Social Democratic government which worked, a nation combining high rates of economic growth with unprecedented levels of equality. This was a view largely shared by the Swedes themselves. For 50 years or so after the 1930’s, it really appeared that you could have it all, a high rate of growth, low levels of unemployment and an unparalleled system of social welfare. But the Swedish model was not to survive the challenges that new times and its own development were to raise. At the beginning of the 1990’s, after almost two decades of increasing problems, the Swedish Model collapsed. A difficult time of high unemployment and fiscal crisis became the every- day reality of the Swedes. This was a mortifying experience for a people that for many decades had known nothing of that kind. Confusion was widespread, but even the Swedish clouds have a silver lining. In the middle of the deepest crisis the country had experienced since the beginning of the 1930’s, rethinking and reappraisal ensued. This was the start of a quite amazing process of change that is transforming Sweden, leaving behind the old monopolistic tutorial state1 and opening the gates to a welfare society in which the state is no more the patronising state of the past but what I would like to call an enabling state, open to civic initiatives, individual choice, and cooperation with the private sector. Part one of this book tells the saga of the rise and fall of the Swedish model or folkhemmet, which is the word commonly used in Sweden for what foreigners call the Swedish mo- del. Folkhemmet – literally a combination of folk (people) and hem (home) – was a unique attempt to create an all-embracing Welfare State, which substituted the security of the tutorial state for the old, traditional ties of family and community. Looking back at history, I try to explain the factors which made folkhemmet and an overwhelming Social Democratic hegemony possible in Sweden, and which ultimately led to the demise of both, as well as to our current period of social and political renewal. The main argument here is that folk- hemmet was more of a bridge than a break in Swedish history. It offered continuity during a time of rapid change brought on by modernisation. Its main power lay in its ability to in- tertwine the past with the future, in its promise to preserve Sweden’s distinctive traditions while exploiting the material prosperity of the industrial era. That is why the subsequent crisis of folkhemmet and Social Democracy represented more than simply the failure of a particular political project. It has had a profound effect on Sweden’s national identity, on our most deeply rooted traditions and dreams, and on the heritage of centuries. 4 This part of the present work was written in the mid-1990’s, when the economic crisis was very deep and the clouds in the Swedish sky were very dark. Part two, written only a year ago and updated for this publication, is about Sweden after the collapse of folkhemmet or the Swedish model. It summarises the transformation that the country has been expe- riencing during the last decade or so as a way to cope with the debacle of the old Swedish model. As the reader will see, amazing things are taking place in Sweden. Many important problems are still there, but the search for a new “Swedish model” has been intensive and in many senses very inspiring to anyone interested in learning about how to build up a fair society with high levels of diversity and individual freedom. The challenges to come are many, but today we can be more confident than we could on the day after the dismal demise of folkhemmet. At the end of this book the reader will find a commented Statistical Appendix that gives a summary of some important aspects of the recent development of Sweden. 5 PART I: THE RISE OF FOLKHEMMET From Peasant Power to Industrial Breakthrough CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN SWEDISH HISTORY As an industrial nation, Sweden was uniquely successful. Industrialisation came relatively late to the country but was all the more intensive when it arrived. Between 1870 and 1950, Sweden had the highest economic growth rate in the Western world. This opened the way to a dramatic growth of prosperity that would go on accelerating until the beginning of the 1970’s. For centuries, poverty had been a hallmark of Sweden, but in a short space of time the country became a by-word for affluence. With industrialisation came rapid urban growth and a thorough transformation of norms and values, lifestyles, the political system and cultural preferences. Every nook and cranny of Swedish life was modernised with the aid of reason and social planners. An ancient, poverty-ridden agrarian nation was turned into a dazzling industrial welfare nation that rapidly became a model for the world. This is one way of looking at the development of modern Sweden. It is a story of radical discontinuity; a break in history that saw the country completely transformed by a mixture of industrial dynamism and social-reforming zeal. Seen like this, the crisis of the Swedish model is explained by the straitened circumstances of industry combined with, or related to, the excesses of social reform. This reading of modern Swedish history captures some vital aspects of the country’s development over the past century, but it leaves out so much more. For a deeper understanding of the rise and fall of folkhemmet one has to look beyond the superficial discontinuities to the continuity beneath. The central feature of Sweden in general and of folkhemmet in particular, is that both have rested on a bedrock of particular traditions and inherited attitudes. It was this unique heritage that paved the way for the unparalleled political hegemony of Social Democracy. And this same heritage made the Sweden of folkhemmet, even as early as the 1930’s, a distinctive third way between the divisive individualism of capitalism and the totalitarian collectivism of communism. The ‘People’s Home’ is, then, much more of a bridge than a break in Sweden’s develop- ment. Its roots can be traced a long way back in time, and with them a great deal of the overwhelming strength and popular support of folkhemmet. Its irresistible attraction lay in its capacity for intertwining the past with the future, tradition with renewal, the fra- grance of green fields with the glow of city lights. It appealed to the collective heritage of an ancient agrarian people, while offering them a life of material prosperity that only the industrial era could provide. Folkhemmet certainly drew ideological strength from modern industrial utopias. However it was based as deeply on the egalitarian and solidaristic ideals 7 of the rural estates, the paternalistic order of the old mining and manufacturing commu- nity known as the bruk, and on the idiosyncratic relationship between rulers and the ruled which lay deep in Sweden’s history.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Den Socialdemokratiska Memoaren Som Retorisk Genre: Exemplen Palm, Erlander Och Persson
    ”Från mörkret stiga vi mot ljuset” Den socialdemokratiska memoaren som retorisk genre: exemplen Palm, Erlander och Persson “From Darkness We Rise Towards the Light” The Social Democratic Memoir as a Rhetoric Genre: the Examples of Palm, Erlander and Persson Magnus Gustafson Masteruppsats i litteraturvetenskap Termin: HT 2014/2015 Kurs: LV 2311 Nivå: Master Handledare: Christer Ekholm Abstract Master’s Thesis in Comparative Literature Title: ”From Darkness We Rise Towards the Light” The Social Democratic Memoir as a Rhetoric Genre: the Examples of Palm, Erlander and Persson Author: Magnus Gustafson Academic Term and Year: Autumn 2014/2015 Department: Literature, History of Ideas and Religion Supervisor: Christer Ekholm Examiner: Dag Hedman Keywords: Political Memoirs, Rhetorical Reading, August Palm, Tage Erlander, Göran Persson Although Social Democratic Memoirs comprise an extensive material, these texts have not attracted any systematic analysis as a distinct and yet varied form of textual genre. The focus in this MA-paper is the Swedish Social Democratic Memoir as a rhetoric genre. The main primary material is memoirs of the pioneer August Palm (1849–1922), the father of the nation Tage Erlander (1901–1985) and the political leader Göran Persson (1949–), published 1905, 1972–82 and 2007, respectively. The general aim is to find out what is the driving power of the memoirs and, more specifically, to shed light on the images of the party history and the history of the welfare state. The method is a comparative analysis of these texts. The overarching rhetoric of Social Democratic Memoirs relate to a general ideological theme corresponding to the progression from darkness to light.
    [Show full text]
  • Pomerania in the Medieval and Renaissance Cartography – from the Cottoniana to Eilhard Lubinus
    Pomerania in the Medieval and Renaissance Cartography… STUDIA MARITIMA, vol. XXXIII (2020) | ISSN 0137-3587 | DOI: 10.18276/sm.2020.33-04 Adam Krawiec Faculty of Historical Studies Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań [email protected] ORCID: 0000-0002-3936-5037 Pomerania in the Medieval and Renaissance Cartography – from the Cottoniana to Eilhard Lubinus Keywords: Pomerania, Duchy of Pomerania, medieval cartography, early modern cartography, maritime cartography The following paper deals with the question of the cartographical image of Pomer- ania. What I mean here are maps in the modern sense of the word, i.e. Graphic rep- resentations that facilitate a spatial understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes, or events in the human world1. It is an important reservation because the line between graphic and non-graphic representations of the Earth’s surface in the Middle Ages was sometimes blurred, therefore the term mappamundi could mean either a cartographic image or a textual geographical description, and in some cases it functioned as an equivalent of the modern term “Geography”2. Consequently, there’s a tendency in the modern historiography to analyze both forms of the geographical descriptions together. However, the late medieval and early modern developments in the perception and re-constructing of the space led to distinguishing cartography as an autonomous, full-fledged discipline of knowledge, and to the general acceptance of the map in the modern sense as a basic form of presentation of the world’s surface. Most maps which will be examined in the paper were produced in this later period, so it seems justified to analyze only the “real” maps, although in a broader context of the geographical imaginations.
    [Show full text]
  • Det Förlovade Folkhemmet? En Studie Av Svensk Civilreligion Speglat I Socialdemokraternas Retorik 1928 - 2008
    Beteckning: HRV:D08:3 Institutionen för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap Det förlovade folkhemmet? En studie av svensk civilreligion speglat i socialdemokraternas retorik 1928 - 2008 Thorbjörn Brehmer September 2008 D-uppsats, 15 högskolepoäng Religionsvetenskap Religionsvetenskap med inriktning mot kultur och identitet D Handledare: Peder Thalén Abstract The aim of this paper is to try Robert N. Bellahs theory of civil religion, within a Swedish societal context. Bellahs theory was designed in, and influenced by American culture. Therefore, the “translation” of Bellahs theory does not come without problems. A methodological discussion concludes with methods focusing on national self- conceptions. Through this method, the Swedish social democratic notion of the “folkhem” can be related to the notions included by “the American way of life”. The “folkhem” as well as “the American way of life” includes ideas of the nation, made up by specific historical events, in both nations. Those ideas are vital parts of the national self conception in both nations. Historical premises are constantly reborn through the rhetorical reinterpretation, and through the eyes of Bellah, the notion of the folkhem creates a national embracive, ethical value system. The notion of the folkhem still is viable in the Swedish society. Contemporary use of the folkhem- notion is discerned by the threats of globalization and neoliberlismic tendencies. In the light of these threats, the folkhem- notion includes the preservation of Puritanism ideals. Keywords: Civil religion,
    [Show full text]
  • The Dark Unknown History
    Ds 2014:8 The Dark Unknown History White Paper on Abuses and Rights Violations Against Roma in the 20th Century Ds 2014:8 The Dark Unknown History White Paper on Abuses and Rights Violations Against Roma in the 20th Century 2 Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) and Ministry Publications Series (Ds) can be purchased from Fritzes' customer service. Fritzes Offentliga Publikationer are responsible for distributing copies of Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) and Ministry publications series (Ds) for referral purposes when commissioned to do so by the Government Offices' Office for Administrative Affairs. Address for orders: Fritzes customer service 106 47 Stockholm Fax orders to: +46 (0)8-598 191 91 Order by phone: +46 (0)8-598 191 90 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.fritzes.se Svara på remiss – hur och varför. [Respond to a proposal referred for consideration – how and why.] Prime Minister's Office (SB PM 2003:2, revised 02/05/2009) – A small booklet that makes it easier for those who have to respond to a proposal referred for consideration. The booklet is free and can be downloaded or ordered from http://www.regeringen.se/ (only available in Swedish) Cover: Blomquist Annonsbyrå AB. Printed by Elanders Sverige AB Stockholm 2015 ISBN 978-91-38-24266-7 ISSN 0284-6012 3 Preface In March 2014, the then Minister for Integration Erik Ullenhag presented a White Paper entitled ‘The Dark Unknown History’. It describes an important part of Swedish history that had previously been little known. The White Paper has been very well received. Both Roma people and the majority population have shown great interest in it, as have public bodies, central government agencies and local authorities.
    [Show full text]
  • English, French, and Spanish Colonies: a Comparison
    COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT (1585–1763) English, French, and Spanish Colonies: A Comparison THE HISTORY OF COLONIAL NORTH AMERICA centers other hand, enjoyed far more freedom and were able primarily around the struggle of England, France, and to govern themselves as long as they followed English Spain to gain control of the continent. Settlers law and were loyal to the king. In addition, unlike crossed the Atlantic for different reasons, and their France and Spain, England encouraged immigration governments took different approaches to their colo- from other nations, thus boosting its colonial popula- nizing efforts. These differences created both advan- tion. By 1763 the English had established dominance tages and disadvantages that profoundly affected the in North America, having defeated France and Spain New World’s fate. France and Spain, for instance, in the French and Indian War. However, those were governed by autocratic sovereigns whose rule regions that had been colonized by the French or was absolute; their colonists went to America as ser- Spanish would retain national characteristics that vants of the Crown. The English colonists, on the linger to this day. English Colonies French Colonies Spanish Colonies Settlements/Geography Most colonies established by royal char- First colonies were trading posts in Crown-sponsored conquests gained rich- ter. Earliest settlements were in Virginia Newfoundland; others followed in wake es for Spain and expanded its empire. and Massachusetts but soon spread all of exploration of the St. Lawrence valley, Most of the southern and southwestern along the Atlantic coast, from Maine to parts of Canada, and the Mississippi regions claimed, as well as sections of Georgia, and into the continent’s interior River.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Spoken Danish Less Intelligible Than Swedish? Charlotte Gooskens, Vincent J
    Is spoken Danish less intelligible than Swedish? Charlotte Gooskens, Vincent J. van Heuven, Renée van Bezooijen, Jos J.A. Pacilly To cite this version: Charlotte Gooskens, Vincent J. van Heuven, Renée van Bezooijen, Jos J.A. Pacilly. Is spoken Danish less intelligible than Swedish?. Speech Communication, Elsevier : North-Holland, 2010, 52 (11-12), pp.1022. 10.1016/j.specom.2010.06.005. hal-00698848 HAL Id: hal-00698848 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00698848 Submitted on 18 May 2012 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Accepted Manuscript Is spoken Danish less intelligible than Swedish? Charlotte Gooskens, Vincent J. van Heuven, Renée van Bezooijen, Jos J.A. Pacilly PII: S0167-6393(10)00109-3 DOI: 10.1016/j.specom.2010.06.005 Reference: SPECOM 1901 To appear in: Speech Communication Received Date: 3 August 2009 Revised Date: 31 May 2010 Accepted Date: 11 June 2010 Please cite this article as: Gooskens, C., van Heuven, V.J., van Bezooijen, R., Pacilly, J.J.A., Is spoken Danish less intelligible than Swedish?, Speech Communication (2010), doi: 10.1016/j.specom.2010.06.005 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication.
    [Show full text]
  • From Democratic Socialism and Rational Planning To
    NORDIC COUNTRIES IN FINNISH PERSPECTIVE FROM DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM AND RATIONAL PLANNING TO POSTMODERN IDENTITY POLITICS AND MARKET-ORIENTATION Ideological Development of the Social Democrats in Sweden and Finland in the Late 20th Century Sami Outinen D.Soc.Sc., University of Helsinki Democratic socialism and planning of term goal was a “socialist society” and “equality the economy between people”, which would be achieved by This article will deconstruct the ideological de- seeking the support of the majority of citizens. velopment of the Swedish Social Democratic Finland’s Social Democrats also favoured the ex- Party SAP (officially, “the Social Democratic pansion of public services, state companies and Workers’ Party of Sweden”) and the Social cooperatives, “democratic economic planning Democratic Party of Finland SDP. This will […] including the effective regulation of capital be done by analysing their own alternative movements” and “the societal control of com- scopes of action in relation to the concepts mercial banks and insurance companies”.1 The of major ideologies and economic theories SAP committed similarly in 1975 at its Party such as socialism, capitalism, economic plan- Conference to long-term planning of the econ- ning, market economy, postmodernism and omy (planmässig hushållning). It positioned Keynesianism as well as researching how Nor- itself as the representative of democratic social- dic social democrats redefined their conven- ism between communist planned economy and tional ideological meanings. capitalism.2 Accordingly, one of the motives for The SDP stressed at the Party Conference in stressing democratic socialism by the SDP was 1975 that democratic socialism was the basis to win the support of the radicalised post-war of its programmatic identity.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nobel Peace Prize
    TITLE: Learning From Peace Makers OVERVIEW: Students examine The Dalai Lama as a Nobel Laureate and compare / contrast his contributions to the world with the contributions of other Nobel Laureates. SUBJECT AREA / GRADE LEVEL: Civics and Government 7 / 12 STATE CONTENT STANDARDS / BENCHMARKS: -Identify, research, and clarify an event, issue, problem or phenomenon of significance to society. -Gather, use, and evaluate researched information to support analysis and conclusions. OBJECTIVES: The student will demonstrate the ability to... -know and understand The Dalai Lama as an advocate for peace. -research and report the contributions of others who are recognized as advocates for peace, such as those attending the Peace Conference in Portland: Aldolfo Perez Esquivel, Robert Musil, William Schulz, Betty Williams, and Helen Caldicott. -compare and contrast the contributions of several Nobel Laureates with The Dalai Lama. MATERIALS: -Copies of biographical statements of The Dalai Lama. -List of Nobel Peace Prize winners. -Copy of The Dalai Lama's acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. -Bulletin board for display. PRESENTATION STEPS: 1) Students read one of the brief biographies of The Dalai Lama, including his Five Point Plan for Peace in Tibet, and his acceptance speech for receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace. 2) Follow with a class discussion regarding the biography and / or the text of the acceptance speech. 3) Distribute and examine the list of Nobel Peace Prize winners. 4) Individually, or in cooperative groups, select one of the Nobel Laureates (give special consideration to those coming to the Portland Peace Conference). Research and prepare to report to the class who the person was and why he / she / they won the Nobel Prize.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Iconographisk Post • Nordisk tidskrift för bildtolkning Nordic Review of Iconography Nr 3/4, 2020. issn 2323-5586. pp. 157–205. Iconographisk Post Fred Andersson Nordisk tidskrift för bildtolkning Ph.D. in Art History, Adjunct prof. (Docent), Senior lecturer, Art History & Visual Nordic Review of Iconography studies, Åbo Akademi University, Finland. Email: [email protected] Nr 3/4, 2020 Iconography of the Labour Movement. Part 2: Socialist Iconography, 1848–1952 innehåll / contents Abstract: This is Part 2 of a two-part study which aims at preliminary conclusions re- garding the iconography of the international labour movement. Earlier research in the Förord / Editorial 3 fields of social history, art history and visual rhetorics has been consulted for this pur- pose. After 1848, emerging socialist parties and labour unions depended on republican Søren Kaspersen “Quale sit intus in his” – A Note about Abbot Suger's 9 iconography for their manifestation of collective identity. The republican virtues of Bronze Doors in Saint-Denis Liberty, Equality and Fraternity remained important, but Fraternity was gradually re- placed or merged with Unity and Solidarity. In a process akin to the identification of Anders Ödman the goddess of Liberty with a more common “Marianne”, the representation of Unity Östra Sallerups kyrka i Frosta härad, Skåne: 27 and manual work in socialist iconography became focused on images of individual kolonisation och kulturella kontakter male or female workers. In earlier prints and illustrations, these representations have Ragnhild M. Bø strong affinities with how the concept of labour was personified in official monuments Miracle, Moral and Memory: Situating the Miracles 53 of the same period.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonial Theodicy and the Jesuit Ascetic Ideal in José De Acosta's
    chapter 6 Colonial Theodicy and the Jesuit Ascetic Ideal in José de Acosta’s Works on Spanish America Bryan Green This chapter aims to demonstrate the centrality of the problem of theodicy in José de Acosta’s (1540–1600) scientific, ethnographic, and historical writings on Spanish America.1 Based on Acosta’s experience as the Jesuit provincial of Peru and his active participation in the political and ecclesiastical reforms initiated under the viceroy Francisco de Toledo (1515–82), these works bear witness to the moral evils running rampant among his fellow Spaniards and the concomi- tant suffering inflicted upon the indigenous population.2 While Acosta recog- nizes the moral evil at the root of Spanish sovereignty, namely greed in the ruthless pursuit of precious metals, his colonial theodicy nevertheless main- tains that this evil is a means to the greater good of the Amerindian’s salvation. In his guidelines for missionary conduct, Acosta offers a response to this ethi- cal impasse through the performance of a distinctly Jesuit ascetic ideal, which 1 This chapter was written at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso with the sup- port of a research grant from the Chilean government (fondecyt Iniciación en Investigación no. 11140527, 2014–17). 2 The son of a prosperous merchant from Medina del Campo in Spain, Acosta entered the Society in 1552 and completed the first years of his studies at the Jesuit college in his home- town. Having distinguished himself as a student and grammar teacher in several Jesuit schools throughout Iberia, Acosta moved on to study philosophy and theology at the renowned University of Alcalá de Henares in 1557.
    [Show full text]
  • Love Ain't Got No Color?
    Sayaka Osanami Törngren LOVE AIN'T GOT NO COLOR? – Attitude toward interracial marriage in Sweden Föreliggande doktorsavhandling har producerats inom ramen för forskning och forskarutbildning vid REMESO, Institutionen för Samhälls- och Välfärdsstudier, Linköpings universitet. Samtidigt är den en produkt av forskningen vid IMER/MIM, Malmö högskola och det nära samarbetet mellan REMESO och IMER/MIM. Den publiceras i Linköping Studies in Arts and Science. Vid filosofiska fakulteten vid Linköpings universitet bedrivs forskning och ges forskarutbildning med utgångspunkt från breda problemområden. Forskningen är organiserad i mångvetenskapliga forskningsmiljöer och forskarutbildningen huvudsakligen i forskarskolor. Denna doktorsavhand- ling kommer från REMESO vid Institutionen för Samhälls- och Välfärdsstudier, Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 533, 2011. Vid IMER, Internationell Migration och Etniska Relationer, vid Malmö högskola bedrivs flervetenskaplig forskning utifrån ett antal breda huvudtema inom äm- nesområdet. IMER ger tillsammans med MIM, Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, ut avhandlingsserien Malmö Studies in International Migration and Ethnic Relations. Denna avhandling är No 10 i avhandlingsserien. Distribueras av: REMESO, Institutionen för Samhälls- och Välfärsstudier, ISV Linköpings universitet, Norrköping SE-60174 Norrköping Sweden Internationell Migration och Etniska Relationer, IMER och Malmö Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, MIM Malmö Högskola SE-205 06 Malmö, Sweden ISSN
    [Show full text]
  • THE SWEDISH LANGUAGE Sharingsweden.Se PHOTO: CECILIA LARSSON LANTZ/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE
    FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN / THE SWEDISH LANGUAGE sharingsweden.se PHOTO: CECILIA LARSSON LANTZ/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE PHOTO: THE SWEDISH LANGUAGE Sweden is a multilingual country. However, Swedish is and has always been the majority language and the country’s main language. Here, Catharina Grünbaum paints a picture of the language from Viking times to the present day: its development, its peculiarities and its status. The national language of Sweden is Despite the dominant status of Swedish, Swedish and related languages Swedish. It is the mother tongue of Sweden is not a monolingual country. Swedish is a Nordic language, a Ger- approximately 8 million of the country’s The Sami in the north have always been manic branch of the Indo-European total population of almost 10 million. a domestic minority, and the country language tree. Danish and Norwegian Swedish is also spoken by around has had a Finnish-speaking population are its siblings, while the other Nordic 300,000 Finland Swedes, 25,000 of ever since the Middle Ages. Finnish languages, Icelandic and Faroese, are whom live on the Swedish-speaking and Meänkieli (a Finnish dialect spoken more like half-siblings that have pre- Åland islands. in the Torne river valley in northern served more of their original features. Swedish is one of the two national Sweden), spoken by a total of approxi- Using this approach, English and languages of Finland, along with Finnish, mately 250,000 people in Sweden, German are almost cousins. for historical reasons. Finland was part and Sami all have legal status as The relationship with other Indo- of Sweden until 1809.
    [Show full text]